SPRINGFIELD -- City police responding to a report of gunfire around 1:45 a.m. Monday in the Old Hill neighborhood confronted the alleged shooter near Union and Orleans streets, triggering a foot chase and K-9 hunt for the suspect.

The subject -- initially described only as a black male wearing a dark-colored baseball cap -- apparently dropped his ball cap on Tyler Street, where a state police K-9 unit was expected to begin tracking him.

Prior said he had few details about the incident, which hadn't produced any victims as of 2:50 a.m.

"We haven't received any information" from city hospitals regarding a possible gunshot victim, Prior said.

It remains unknown if the gunfire was directed at anyone or anything in particular, or if it was random. More information will be posted on MassLive.com as it becomes available.

Police were canvassing sections of Old Hill for the subject, who dropped his hat near 110 Tyler St.

The call began with a ShotSpotter activation report received around 1:45 a.m. ShotSpotter is the city's electronic gunshot-detection system, which can pinpoint the location of gunfire.

An officer involved in the initial foot pursuit lost sight of the suspect on Union Street. The officer had confronted the subject, ordering him to remove his hands from his pockets. The subject refused and fled on foot, sparking a foot chase and large-scale police search.

The incident comes on the heels of several shooting incidents in Springfield, including multiple gunfire reports on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and two homicides last week -- the city's 14th and 15th killings of the year.

THE MAP BELOW shows the intersection of Union and Orleans streets in Springfield's Old Hill neighborhood, where police confronted a possible shooting suspect early Monday morning: